Tri State
New trails president sees economic development as top priority
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
FROSTBURG — Savage River Lodge owner Mike Dreisbach thinks Allegany County should stop looking for “that $40 million company” and instead promote the resources already here.
“It’s not here,”?Dreisbach said, “unless it’s a prison.”
Dreisbach was elected Monday as presidence of Mountain Maryland?Trails, a nonprofit organization which serves as an advisory board to the Allegany County commissioners on all things related to Maryland’s 20.47-mile portion of the Great Allegheny Passage. The rail trail opened fully in the spring of 2007 and, at the Western Maryland Railway Station in Cumberland, connects the 184.5-mile long C&O?Canal Towpath to 150 miles of the passage, which stretches to a point near Pittsburgh.
The local portion of the Great Allegheny Passage was for a long time identified as the Allegheny Highlands Trail before changing its name in 2008. The Western Maryland Wheelmen coordinate several rides along the trail from Cumberland to the Eastern Continental Divide. The Mountain Maryland Marathon Club coordinates nearly a dozen events on the Great Allegheny Passage, including the signature Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival each April. That event alone drew 512 participants from 13 states and Washington, D.C. this past April.
A host of other benefit bike rides and walks are conducted on the trail as well, including this Saturday's Train Pull 7K (4.36-mile) run beginning at 6:55 a.m to benefit the Allegany County Special Olympics.
The Mountain Maryland Trails board of directors gathered Monday at Frostburg City Hall. There, Dreisbach said he believes trail expansion in the next decade will be far easier than what stakeholders have experienced in the last 10 years. He pointed to The Progress Fund, a Pennsylvania-based organization which has crossed into Maryland to expand the Trail Towns program, as a critical sign that other communities along the trail see the economic development potential. That entity has put a large portion of a $100,000 grant into the expansion effort, which could soon extend to Oldtown and towpath towns in Washington and Frederick counties.
Dreisbach, who also serves as vice president of Garrett Trails, said he sees efforts to expand the local trail system and possibly connect to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail as a viable mission.
Dreisbach won a run-off election for the president’s chair against Larry Brock of the Western?Maryland Wheelmen, a Cumberland-based recreational and competitive cycling group. Brock did not attend Monday’s meeting although he did submit a statement to be distributed in his absence.
As the votes were being tallied, Dreisbach said he believes the group might need “to do some things differently”?while keeping some things the same.
“I don’t discount what Larry’s done,”?Dreisbach said of Brock, a trail stakeholder since the late 1970s.
New board members also were elected. Bill Atkinson, Maryland?Department of Planning, remains vice president; Pam Cover, of the Mayor of Cumberland’s Office, is treasurer; Brenda Smith, Cumberland’s economic development coordinator, is secretary. Other new board members include Nicole Wagoner, of the new Fairfield Inn &?Suites by Marriott at Canal Place and Maureen Brewer, FrostburgFirst manager.
Other issues discussed Monday include trail usage, which trail ranger Harold “Mac”?MacDonald said experienced its second straight month of 10,000 or more visitors, double the count this time last year. Members discussed the validity of the count but MacDonald said the methodology has remained the same. Some trail users are counted twice. More, however, are not counted at all due to the locations of the three counters.
The trail counters are designed to elicit such details as usage per hour and per day but a malfunction has prevented that from those figures being available.
“I’m about ready to send it back” and find a new one, Atkinson said.
Trail damage by all-terrain vehicle operators continue to be a problem, MacDonald said, but a decreasing one.
“They’re smart,” MacDonald said. “They realize if they don’t tear nothin’ up, the might not get caught.”
Those caught illegally on the trail can be fined and face a $15 per day vehicle storage fee.
For more information, visit www.mmtrails.org.
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
FROSTBURG — Savage River Lodge owner Mike Dreisbach thinks Allegany County should stop looking for “that $40 million company” and instead promote the resources already here.
“It’s not here,”?Dreisbach said, “unless it’s a prison.”
Dreisbach was elected Monday as presidence of Mountain Maryland?Trails, a nonprofit organization which serves as an advisory board to the Allegany County commissioners on all things related to Maryland’s 20.47-mile portion of the Great Allegheny Passage. The rail trail opened fully in the spring of 2007 and, at the Western Maryland Railway Station in Cumberland, connects the 184.5-mile long C&O?Canal Towpath to 150 miles of the passage, which stretches to a point near Pittsburgh.
The local portion of the Great Allegheny Passage was for a long time identified as the Allegheny Highlands Trail before changing its name in 2008. The Western Maryland Wheelmen coordinate several rides along the trail from Cumberland to the Eastern Continental Divide. The Mountain Maryland Marathon Club coordinates nearly a dozen events on the Great Allegheny Passage, including the signature Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival each April. That event alone drew 512 participants from 13 states and Washington, D.C. this past April.
A host of other benefit bike rides and walks are conducted on the trail as well, including this Saturday's Train Pull 7K (4.36-mile) run beginning at 6:55 a.m to benefit the Allegany County Special Olympics.
The Mountain Maryland Trails board of directors gathered Monday at Frostburg City Hall. There, Dreisbach said he believes trail expansion in the next decade will be far easier than what stakeholders have experienced in the last 10 years. He pointed to The Progress Fund, a Pennsylvania-based organization which has crossed into Maryland to expand the Trail Towns program, as a critical sign that other communities along the trail see the economic development potential. That entity has put a large portion of a $100,000 grant into the expansion effort, which could soon extend to Oldtown and towpath towns in Washington and Frederick counties.
Dreisbach, who also serves as vice president of Garrett Trails, said he sees efforts to expand the local trail system and possibly connect to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail as a viable mission.
Dreisbach won a run-off election for the president’s chair against Larry Brock of the Western?Maryland Wheelmen, a Cumberland-based recreational and competitive cycling group. Brock did not attend Monday’s meeting although he did submit a statement to be distributed in his absence.
As the votes were being tallied, Dreisbach said he believes the group might need “to do some things differently”?while keeping some things the same.
“I don’t discount what Larry’s done,”?Dreisbach said of Brock, a trail stakeholder since the late 1970s.
New board members also were elected. Bill Atkinson, Maryland?Department of Planning, remains vice president; Pam Cover, of the Mayor of Cumberland’s Office, is treasurer; Brenda Smith, Cumberland’s economic development coordinator, is secretary. Other new board members include Nicole Wagoner, of the new Fairfield Inn &?Suites by Marriott at Canal Place and Maureen Brewer, FrostburgFirst manager.
Other issues discussed Monday include trail usage, which trail ranger Harold “Mac”?MacDonald said experienced its second straight month of 10,000 or more visitors, double the count this time last year. Members discussed the validity of the count but MacDonald said the methodology has remained the same. Some trail users are counted twice. More, however, are not counted at all due to the locations of the three counters.
The trail counters are designed to elicit such details as usage per hour and per day but a malfunction has prevented that from those figures being available.
“I’m about ready to send it back” and find a new one, Atkinson said.
Trail damage by all-terrain vehicle operators continue to be a problem, MacDonald said, but a decreasing one.
“They’re smart,” MacDonald said. “They realize if they don’t tear nothin’ up, the might not get caught.”
Those caught illegally on the trail can be fined and face a $15 per day vehicle storage fee.
For more information, visit www.mmtrails.org.
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Mountain Maryland
Trails
Trails